Best years of our lives
by dougthedino
Summary: COMPLETE. A collection of experiences about Spyro and Cynder and their love, how it grows, how they met, and how they'll become closer together. My second story so read and please review!
1. Chapter 1: The new guy

**AN: Hello everybody. So this is my second story. Enjoy, and don't forget to Review!**

Chapter One: The New Guy

Spyro looked down at the paper in his claws:

_Mrs. Pesout, Room 118_

He looked up at the sign above the door, 118. So this was his new class room.

"_Well, can't stop now."_

Spyro took a deep breath and opened the door just a crack. He peered inside. To his surprise the room was quite small. He saw the desks arranged in neat rows with students in each one. On the wall hung amateur drawings no doubt drawn by the other students. The multiplication and Division charts were up taped up on the front wall next to the clock. The desks were scratched and filthy from years of use. Cracks could be seen in the walls and Spyro swore he saw a black widow spider in a cobweb nestled in the corner.

At the front of the classroom stood the teacher, Mrs. Pesout. She was at least in her thirties and fairly small for her age, not much taller than the third grade students she taught. She had orange scales with a ruby red underbelly. Her eyes were hazel and her snout was short and squat. Her horns were thin and long, and perched on her nose was a pair of half-moon spectacles. Spyro gulped, he couldn't tell whether she was a nice teacher or a mean one. Hopefully she was the first one.

"_What should I say?" _ Spyro thought to himself. It was obvious that the teacher was lecturing the students about something, he didn't want to just interrupt. Suddenly, his thoughts were interrupted by a voice,

"Hello?" Spyro jumped a little, the voice had come from behind him. He looked around and saw a dragon, not much older than him, standing behind him. The dragon had bright red scales and yellow scales on his stomach and underbelly.

"Are you lost?" the dragon asked.

"I uh…" Spyro squeaked out. He was too frightened to say anything else.

"What's wrong with you?" The dragon asked, with a little hint of annoyance creeping into his voice.

"Uh, n-n-nothing. It's just that I'm new here." Spyro stammered. Spyro averted his eyes from the dragon's and stared at the floor. The dragon smiled and said,

"Well why didn't ya' say so? I'm Flame. What's your name?"

"Uh, Spyro."

"Nice to meet ya!" Flame offered his hand, which Spyro shook a little hesitantly. Perhaps this new school wouldn't be so bad after all.

Flame opened the door. He beckoned for Spyro to go inside.

"I-I-I can't" He stumbled, "The teacher's talking to the class." Flame rolled his eyes.

"Doesn't matter, it's not like she's saying anything important." He said. "C'mon you'll be fine."

"Um, okay." Spyro stepped inside the class room. He stood for a moment hoping that nobody would notice him, but almost as soon as he had stepped through the door the teacher had stopped talking. Flame followed Spyro into the room.

"Hey everybody, this is Spyro the new kid!" Flame shouted. Almost everyone immediately jumped out of their desks and rushed to greet him. They had never seen a new kid before, to them it was as if Spyro was a national event. The kids had completely surrounded Spyro while asking him questions. The teacher got the attention of the students. Once she had gotten them to calm down she turned to Spyro. She smiled.

"Welcome Spyro. I'm Mrs. Pesout." She said cheerfully.

"Hi." Spyro mumbled. He looked at the other kids. They were anxiously staring at him as if waiting for him to say more.

"Well Spyro, why don't you introduce yourself." Mrs. Pesout said. Spyro coughed nervously. He hadn't thought about introducing himself. Thoughts of doubt entered his head. What should he say? What if he said something wrong? Would they laugh at him? What if they didn't like him?

"Spyro? Is everything okay?" His teacher asked.

"Y-yes." He replied. He took a deep breath and prepared to introduce himself.

It had been a few hours since Spyro had introduced himself to the class. Things had gone quite well. The rest of the class had seemed to take and instant liking to him. They hadn't laughed at him or even make fun of him. Things were looking like they would be just fine. His fright had soon been replaced with relief, joy, and gratitude for his new class.

Mrs. Pesout had turned out to be actually quite nice. She wasn't mean or degrading in any way, she would definitely a be better teacher than Miss Boyer had been. She'd told Spyro that she had once been an astronomer. This intrigued Spyro, he loved anything about space. He loved to gaze at the stars and other planets, imagining what it would be like to live on them.

Mrs. Pesout was lecturing the students on how to multiply numbers. Spyro had tried to pay attention, but he had already learned these things in his old school. His thoughts eventually began to wander.

His thoughts drifted to his old life. His old school and its terrible students. The kids that made fun of him. His teacher, Miss Boyer, who was prone to rages of fury at the class and her awful punishments to help discipline her students. He remembered his old parents and the terrible things they had done to him. How they had mocked him and told him he was nothing. How they had neglected him and had refused to love him. The way his mother would glare at him as if he were nothing but an ugly stain that wouldn't go away. The way his father had beaten him almost every night. How he'd had to hide the bruises and cuts from others. He shuddered as he remembered how his parents had nearly killed him out of fury when he had told the principal of what they had done to him. He remembered his grief as he was sent to live at an orphanage. He remembered how terrible it had been there, the cold dreary rooms. The moody orphanage director, and above all the other children who had treated him like a freak.

Spyro shook his head to get rid of these terrible memories. He tried to remember happier things. His days in the orphanage came to an end, as he was soon adopted by a new mother and father. They had loved him as soon as they'd seen him. They had taken him to their home in Warfang where he started a new life. They praised him when he did well, and patiently disciplined him when he did wrong. His new mother's name was Mara, and his father's was Gerik. Mara had told him that she was unable to have babies so she and her husband had adopted Spyro. Spyro smiled as he remembered how happy he had been the day of his adoption.

The bell rang for recess. Spyro and the other children jumped from their seats and happily dashed outside.

_**Well that's the first chapter, I'll be updating soon! **_


	2. Chapter 2: The meeting

Chapter Two: A Meeting Predetermined

"C'mon Spyro just jump!" Flame shouted. Spyro looked down from his perch on what he was sure was the highest spot on Earth. He gulped. He'd been a lot more sure of this at the beginning when he was on the ground, but now all the possibilities of everything that could go wrong started swimming in his mind. The plan was simple: step one, climb up to the top. Step two, jump off. Step three, glide to safety and hopefully don't break any arms or legs or die a horrible and painful death.

Spyro took a deep breath and steadied himself. He readied his wings and jumped. He opened his wings in an attempt to glide, only to realize that he had no idea how gliding worked. He began freefalling. He kicked and clawed at the air trying to do anything to slow his descent. It was no use, the ground was to close, he squeezed his eyes shut and prepared to meet the quick approaching ground.

_WUMP_! Spyro landed on the ground with a dull thud. He opened his eyes and looked around. Flame looked down at him.

"You alright?" Flame asked. Spyro nodded and woozily got to his feet.

"So how'd I do?" He asked. Flame laughed.

"Awesome, for a second there I thought you were actually scared!" Spyro grinned. He decided not to tell Flame that he actually _had _been scared. Spyro looked around. All the other kids had gathered around the monkey bars and had watched Spyro and his brave stunt. They were busy talking about how brave he had been to have actually jump off the top of the monkey bars. It had never been done before by anyone they had ever met.

"So, does this mean I can join your secret club?" Spyro asked. Flame nodded.

"Definitely. That was the coolest thing I've ever seen! Even cooler than that one time I had breakfast in the shower, _while_ it was on!" Spyro laughed, for he was also guilty of doing the exact same thing. He smiled as he remembered his new mom pulling back the shower curtain to find him with soggy breakfast cereal all over his face.

"So what do you guys do in the secret club?" He asked.

"Oh, well I'm the only member." Flame said. "But, now that your in it we can do all kinds of things!" Spyro smiled.

"So what do we do first?" he asked.

"Well," Flame said. "first I guess you should meet all the kids in the other classes they're out here too. C'mon follow me." Flame started walking to the other end of the playground, Spyro followed. He looked around. It had the usual things you would find at a playground. Jungle gym, monkey bars, swing set, totally unsafe spinning carousal thing. There were tall kids, small kids, tough kids, sissy kids, and of course there was the playground supervisor sitting on her lawn chair with a whistle hanging around her neck and an issue of "_Lose Weight Fast!"_ magazine in her hand. All kinds of made up/improvised/unfairly altered games were being played. Sand Throwing, Thistle Tag, and of course paste eating contests.

Flame finally came to a halt at the edge of the playground and sat down.

"Alright, look around and ask me the name of _any _dragon on this playground and I'll tell you their name." he said proudly. Spyro looked around and pointed at a scrawny blue dragon.

"Who's he?" Flame scrunched up his snout in thought.

"Oh that's Irwin."

"What's he doing?"

"Collecting all the grains of dirt he can find on the playground."

"Why?"

"He says it's for a science fair project." Spyro looked around some more and saw a dragon that caught his eye. She had black and red scales and dark green eyes. He pointed at her and asked,

"Who's that." Flame looked at the dragon Spyro was pointing at.

"Oh that's Cynder." His voice lowered so no one else would hear him and continued,

"They say she's an alien."

"Really?"

"Yeah, they say that if you get too close to her she'll suck your brains out." Flame said. Spyro gasped. He'd never heard of something so terrifying. He decided to ask no more questions about her.

After a few more minutes the bell rang for all the students to go back inside. As he shuffled along with the other students to go inside he began thinking about Cynder. He wasn't fully convinced that she was an alien, it just didn't seem possible. He decided to ask Mrs. Pesout about it after school.

By the next day, Spyro was convinced that Cynder _wasn't_ an alien. He had asked his teacher about it and she had told him that there was no such thing as aliens. While Spyro believed his teacher he had still not been thoroughly convinced that Cynder wasn't an alien, after all teachers did know a lot, but they didn't know everything. So he asked the one person that did know everything. His mom. She had also told him that there was no such thing as aliens and that he didn't need to worry.

Spyro was now debating on what to do next. He wanted to talk to her, because she'd seemed pretty lonely. But there was still that small chance that his mom could have been wrong (even though she said she never was) he wasn't too enthusiastic about having his brains sucked out. Still, he was pretty sure that she wasn't very dangerous so he finally decided that he'd talk to her at recess.

Spyro stepped outside. He breathed in the fresh air and gave a contended sigh. It would be awhile before it would be this nice outside again since it was nearing winter time. After a few minutes he started searching for Cynder. It took him awhile to spot her, but he eventually found her hiding in a small patch of trees. She was writing in a book of some kind with an unusual leather binding. On the cover he could just barely make out the word "Journal".

Spyro debated on whether or not he should walk up to her. She hadn't noticed him yet so he could always walk away. His feet shuffled nervously. SNAP! He'd accidently crunched a nearby twig. Cynder's head immediately popped up. Her eyes were wide with surprise.

"Who's there" She called. Well it was too late to run away now. Spyro cautiously stepped forward and showed himself.

"Who are you?" She huffed. Spyro jumped a little at the anger in her voice.

"S-spyro." He said quietly. She glared at him.

"What are you doing here?" _Uh oh, she's really mad now_, Spyro thought.

"I-uh just wanted to play with you." He said tentatively. Cynder cocked her head.

"Really?"

"Uh, y-yes." He replied unsteadily. Cynder immediately brightened up.

"Thanks!" She said.

"Er, um your welcome." Spyro said. Cynder smiled. Spyro suddenly felt a little embarrassed and could feel the blood rushing to his face. He was thoroughly confused. He'd never talked to a girl before in all ten years of his life and had no idea how to do it He had no idea whether the fact that she was smiling was a good thing or if it just meant she was planning his demise.

Cynder leaped up and walked over to him. He took a timid step back, Cynder didn't seem to notice.

"So what do ya' wanna play?" she asked him. Her smile was bigger now, and still steadily growing. Her eyes looked at him imploringly, and were filled with a boundless curiosity that made Spyro feel a little uneasy.

"Uh, a couple of my friends are playing soccer. You wanna come play with us?" He asked her.

"Sure!" She exclaimed. She walked up to Spyro. "So which way?" She asked him.

"Oh, um just out on the field you'll see them." He explained.

"Are you coming?" She asked him.

"Y-yeah, I'll be there in a minute. Go on ahead I'll catch up." He answered.

"Okay." She said. She started walking away, but then turned around. "Hey, thanks for inviting me. No one's ever wanted to play with me before." She said. She walked up closer to him.

"Uh, n-n-no problem." He stammered out. She was very close now. Close enough to easily suck his brains out or maybe bite him. All the possibilities swirled around in his mind. She was leaning towards him, he held his breath and closed his eyes. This was it. No doubt she was going to kill him! What she did instead completely surprised him. She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. And quickly ran off in the direction of the field.

Spyro sat in a dazed silence. What had just happened? It took him a moment to figure out just exactly what had happened. But it finally hit him, like a wall of concrete. He had been kissed by a girl! He'd never been kissed by anyone besides his mom before. He didn't know what he felt. He couldn't tell whether to be scared, confused, or uncontrollably happy. He wrestled in his mind for awhile as to what he should feel. Finally he decided to be the latter.

_**AN: So that's the second chapter! I'll be out of town for awhile so the next chapter won't be up for a few days. Make sure to review!**_


	3. Chapter 3: Questions

Chapter Three: Questions

_Three days ago, _

The rain was really pouring now. The water came down in relentless torrents, drenching those who were unfortunate enough to be caught in the storm. The wind howled like some ferocious beast. Wrappers and other garbage were blown about the street. Spyro stood on the sidewalk, soaked to the bone. He stood in front of a store. Spyro walked up to the store door, he looked up at the sign and then opened the door. He stepped inside and closed the door behind him. He sighed with relief now that he was out of the terrible tempest. He turned around and looked at the store before him. The store was small and simple. Gray ceilings, gray floor, gray chairs, the only ounce of color came from a pot of wilted yellow flowers. Spyro could tell that it was a store rarely visited. He looked around and saw the front counter with a rather bored looking clerk with his back turned toward him, his scales were of course gray. Spyro walked up to the counter. He coughed to get the store clerk's attention. The store clerk turned around. He looked quite surprised, it was obvious that he didn't get very many customers. The clerk spoke in a raspy voice,

"What can I help you with?" He said with a rather feeble attempt at a smile.

"I'm looking for an engagement ring." Spyro replied. The clerk's smile brightened, for a moment it seemed as if he was actually slightly less bored.

"Wait just a moment." The clerk said. He walked to the back of the store near some shelves and started sorting through them. Spyro sat down on a chair nearby, ignoring the coating of dust, and began to think.

He'd known Cynder for almost ten years now. He remembered when they had first met, back in the third grade. He smiled as he remembered the way he'd felt when she kissed him that day. He had asked her about it the day after but she told him that she didn't know what he was talking about. (though her blushing told Spyro otherwise.) He and Cynder had eventually become good friends. He had fond memories of their friendship. While many of the other boys had told him that it was just plain _weird_ to be friends with a girl, Spyro didn't mind. She wasn't like other girls. She didn't care about what she looked like or what boy had the cutest horns and all that other girly stuff. She seemed more like a boy to Spyro, she could climb the money bars, she talked like a boy, she could even play kickball better than most of the boys. Of course that didn't mean she was normal. Far from it. She had at least a dozen imaginary friends, a few of which Spyro was pretty sure she changed every day.

Spyro's thoughts were interrupted by a cough from the store clerk. He walked up to the counter. The clerk had a small box with a half dozen of rings inside. Each one was equally dazzling, they were all topped with a rare gem of some kind. They had bands of silver, gold, and platinum. They seemed out of place in the shop. Spyro couldn't tell which one to buy. He had absolutely no idea what kind of rings Cynder liked or whether she even liked rings, he didn't even know what her ring size was! But then he saw it. It wasn't grand and amazing like the other rings, but somehow he knew Cynder would like it. It was a shiny black stone with a band of silver for its base. Spyro pointed at the ring and asked,

"How much for that one?" The clerk looked surprised about Spyro's choice.

"That one?" The clerk asked, with more than a little doubt in his voice. Spyro nodded. The clerk shrugged and said,

"That one's only half as much as the others." He said. Spyro handed the clerk the money. The clerk took it reluctantly, he seemed rather disappointed that Spyro hadn't chosen a more expensive ring. Spyro thanked the clerk and walked out of the store and back into the storm.

Spyro's mind was racing. His hands fumbled with anxiety. He shifted uncomfortably in his chair. His meal was untouched, his appetite long gone. He saw Cynder's eyes relentlessly staring into his. His heart hammered inside his chest with every beat. He hadn't guessed that it would be this hard. He knew he should just say it instead of waiting like this, but he was too terrified to open his mouth, his tongue felt glued to the roof of his mouth.

"Is everything alright Spyro?" Cynder asked. Spyro looked up.

"N-no, everything's fine."

"Well, you're not eating anything, and you haven't said a word all night." She said. Spyro didn't know what to say next, after all her accusations were correct.

"I-I'm just not feeling all right." He said. Cynder's eyes narrowed.

"Well that's obvious, but _why_ aren't you feeling all right?" Her voice had a subtle edge of anger to it. Spyro paused again. He was desperately trying to think of an excuse for his odd behavior. He couldn't very well tell her yet.

"I-I think I'm just a little sick is all." He lied.

"You think your sick? Well why did ask me out tonight if you weren't feeling well?" she asked. The anger in her voice had been replaced with concern. Spyro swallowed. He was digging himself deeper now, it'd be nearly impossible to ask her now. He sighed.

"It's nothing serious, I'm just feeling a little under the weather is all." He smiled, trying to convince her everything was fine.

"Well if you say so." Cynder replied, she went back to eating her meal.

A few minutes later they had finished eating and went out onto the balcony. It was a chilly night, but the stars were all out and the moon full. Spyro was grateful that the stars were so beautiful this night, he'd need all the help he could get. Cynder leaned on Spyro's shoulder,

"The stars look beautiful tonight, don't they?" she said.

"They certainly do." Spyro replied. He looked at the constellations shaped out by the gleaming stars. They still entranced him just as much as they had when he was little. He marveled at how it all was. The moon with its constant orbit around the night sky, Spyro wondered how it all happened.

He looked down at Cynder and smiled. She had her eyes closed and her head was resting on his shoulder. She nuzzled his arm with her snout. His mind was searching desperately searching for something to say. His heart was pounding and fear gripped his heart. Suddenly, an idea popped into his mind.

"Cynder."

"Yes?"

"Here's a riddle for you." Cynder smiled.

"What is it?" She asked.

"Why does the moon and the stars shine every night? Why do you think their light would travel millions of miles just to reach this earth?" Spyro said. Cynder thought for a moment.

"I don't know." She said, "Why do they shine Spyro?" Spyro smiled,

"They shine for you." He said, "Every night their light travels millions of miles just so they can illuminate your beauty." Cynder smiled.

"It sounds like you've given it a lot of thought." She said.

"Well it's true." He said. "And if I were a star, I'd shine the brightest just for you." He looked at Cynder and kissed her cheek . After a few seconds he pulled away and began to talk,

"Cynder there's something I want to ask you." He said, his anxiety creeping into his voice. Cynder looked at him perplexedly.

"What is it?" She asked him, her voice as gentle as the night sky. Spyro cleared his throat.

"Cynder, I… would you" He began reaching for the ring. He pulled out the small box it was in. His hands fumbled as he tried to open it. His fingers slipped and dropped the box. The ring rolled across the floor and came to a stop and Cynder's foot. Spyro's mouth was agape with shock.

"I-I" he stuttered, but before he could say anything Cynder grabbed him, pulled him into an embrace and kissed him. Their lips joined together. Spyro was caught completely off guard. He and Cynder had kissed each other before, but it had always been nothing special just a peck on the cheek. He eventually returned Cynder's embrace. For a few moments they felt and unearthly bliss. They were together and nothing could change that. Spyro was ecstatic, his mind reeled with the realization that of what was happening. He'd done it, without even words he'd asked her the most important question of his life, the answer of which would change his life forever,

"Yes."


	4. Chapter 4: Blaze

Chapter Four: Blaze

Spyro leaned forward. His mouth was obscured by the mask he was wearing, his breath hot and stuffy. The patient was dying. She was losing too much blood. Spyro's mind was racing, he could feel panic creeping into his heart like an icy grip. He had about five minutes before his patient bled to death. He took a deep breath and calmed himself, he could do this.

The patient was a young dragoness with a severe spinal tumor. She had been warned of her tumor only two weeks prior, at which time the tumor had already began to show signs of becoming malignant. Her husband had demanded that she be given as much care as possible.

"Scalpel!" he shouted, one of the nurses passed him the tool. He gripped it and began the process of removing the tumor. It was difficult, the tumor being quite large and placed treacherously close to the patient's spinal cord. In a few minutes he had severed the tumor and the operation was complete, and the patient saved. It was a close call, the patient had been on the brink of death, but Spyro was able to save her life, and the life of her unborn child. His child.

Spyro exited the operation room and briskly walked back to his office to change back into his hospital uniform. He took off the surgeon mask and gratefully breathed in some fresh air, something he had been without for at least eight hours during the surgery. After he changed he went out of his office and looked for the room his patient would be sent to. Room 118, he smiled, _the exact same number as my third grade class_, he thought to himself. He opened the door and stepped inside of the room.

Cynder lay on the bed half awake. She had numerous machines attached to her, including a breathing tube down her throat. She still looked quite beautiful for someone who had just gone through surgery. Cynder looked up, saw Spyro and smiled.

"Is that you Spyro?" she asked.

"Yes" he answered. He walked over to the edge of her bed and sat down. He held her hand. He spoke gently,

"Don't worry Cynder, the surgery was a complete success. You're safe now." He looked down at her enlarged stomach and added, "You're _both_ safe." Cynder smiled.

"Of course I am, you're the best surgeon there is." She gripped his hand and squeezed it gently. She looked down at her arm and noticed the I.V. in it, she also noticed the breathing tube in her throat.

"Why do they have me hooked up to all these machines?" she asked indignantly.

"It's just a precaution dear, your still recovering." Spyro said.

"Well, I think I can breathe just fine on my own." She said, ripping the tube out of her throat and yanking the I.V. out of her arm. Spyro grinned, she was still just as feisty as ever.

A nurse slipped into the room. She held a clipboard in her hands and a pair of glasses perched on her snout. She glanced at Spyro.

"Dr. Spyro, they need your help with that kidney transplant in operation room B." she said, her voice stern and to the point. Spyro sighed and reluctantly stood up. He leaned down and kissed Cynder on the head.

"I'll see you soon." He walked out the door. The nurse's attention shifted to Cynder. Her eyes widened.

"What did you do to your I.V.!" She demanded. Cynder rolled her eyes and went to sleep, heedless of the nurse's objections.

Spyro leaned back in his chair. All of the surgeries had been completed and now the rest of the day would consist of boring paper work. He sighed to himself, he _hated_ paperwork. He glared at the heap of forms and bills he was supposed to sign. He wished he could just burn it all. He smiled as he imagined the heap as nothing but a pile of ashes. He'd probably be able to get away with it, the hospital wouldn't fire their best surgeon over something as petty as paperwork.

His thoughts were interrupted as a nurse bolted into his office, out of breath. He looked at her hopefully, perhaps they needed him in the emergency room and he could be relieved of his mountain of paperwork.

"What is it?" he asked her. The nurse took a few deep breaths before replying,

"It's your wife! She's having her baby!"

Spyro paced around the door. On the other side his wife was facing the hardest thing she had ever done in her life, and there was nothing he could do to help her. He couldn't help her deliver it, he was a spinal surgeon not a nurse. He sat down on a nearby chair cupped his head in his paws. He groaned, he felt so…_useless_. He'd heard that word so many times, and so many times he had felt that way. _"Useless boy! Good for nothing whelp! I wish you'd never been born." _Tears sprang in his eyes at the memory of those harsh words his real parents had said so long ago, the words he often believed before he found his new home.

Spyro struggled to take control over his emotions. "What is my problem?" he whispered to himself. That had been years ago. He was happy now, good job, wife of his dreams, and a child on the way. So why did he still have these feelings of doubt inside of him? Why was he still haunted by the memories of his past? Wasn't fifteen years long enough to get over only seven of abuse? He pondered over this for a while, not noticing the nurse standing next to him. She coughed to get his attention. He jumped a little, then noticed the nurse and relaxed.

"How is she?" he asked. The nurse smiled and said,

"She's fine." She gestured to the open door and let him in. He walked over to Cynder. In her arms she cradled the most glorious thing Spyro had ever seen.

Its scales were the color of the sunset, a deep and vivid red-orange. Its eyes were purple like Spyro's. On its snout was a small horn.

"What should we name him?" Cynder asked, her voice weak from the pain she had just gone through. Spyro thought for a moment, then an idea popped into his head.

"Blaze" Spyro answered. Cynder looked down at her son and smiled.

"Yes, that's a perfect name for him. Blaze, our little angel." Spyro gazed at his son and all his sadness from earlier melted away, and he was now filled with a boundless sense of joy. And he had every reason to be, for he was now one of the greatest things in the world. A father.


	5. Chapter 5: The Incident

Chapter Five: The incident

Cynder looked down at her list to make sure she hadn't forgotten anything. Meat, check. Milk, check. Cleaning supplies, check. She looked in her cart, relieved to see that she hadn't forgotten anything. She stood in the produce aisle of the local supermarket. Blaze stood next to her holing her hand. He shivered from the chilly draft and said,

"Are we done yet mommy? I'm cold."

"Don't worry sweetie, we just need to wait in line now." Cynder pushed her cart over to the checkout lines with Blaze following close behind. Cynder looked at the line and sighed. There was at lest fifty other people in the line, and all of them seemed to have a mountain of groceries in their shopping cart. Cynder looked around to see if any of the other lines were shorter, all of them were just as long as the one she was currently in. _"This is what I get for grocery shopping during the holidays." _She thought to herself.

She decided to go to the self-checkout. The line only had three other people in it, and Cynder was making sure that she was the fourth, before someone else did. Too late, she saw another dragoness making her way towards the line. Cynder picked up Blaze and set him down in the shopping cart and ran as fast as she could to get there before the other dragon did. She successfully made it in line and leaned on her shopping cart panting.

"That was really fast mommy!" Blaze shouted, his voice full of glee. Cynder smiled, still out of breath to say anything. Cynder only had to wait for about five minutes for the other customers. She walked up to the machine and proceeded to scan the first item. The words, SCAN INCORRECT, in bold red letters flashed across the screen. Cynder rolled her eyes and tried again. Once again the words flashed. She grit her teeth in frustration and tried again. This time the words were accompanied by an annoying beeping sound. Cynder roared at the top of her lungs and spouted a few choice words while pounding on the stupid machine to try and get it to work. Of course this only made matters worse as the machine began beeping as the words ERROR: COMMAND INVALID flashed across the screen. Cynder decided that she had had enough with the infernal contraption and gave up. She put Blaze in the cart again, and began pushing the cart towards the check out lines.

"Mommy?"

"hmm?"

"What does #$! mean?" he asked, repeating one of the "choice words" his mom had used while screaming at the machine. Cynder quickly put her hand over his mouth and told him to never say that word again.

Cynder rubbed her forehead as she waited in the mile-long line. She was about halfway through the line and still had at least an hour left to go. She groaned, Spyro would now definitely get home before she did. He'd probably freak out and call the police to start a search party. Her cell phone was dead so she couldn't call him, and she had no way of reaching him. Blaze sat in the cart gently snoring. He'd fallen asleep after about ten minutes of waiting in line. Cynder smiled, at least she'd gotten Blaze to fall asleep, hopefully he'd stay that way for a few more hours. The line started to move again finally. Cynder started to walk forward when a sudden dizziness came over her. She grabbed the cart to steady herself. Her breathing became ragged and shallow.

"Are you all right?" a dragon with green scales behind her asked. Cynder nodded.

"I'm just a little tired from standing in this line." She said, the dizziness already beginning to fade. The dragon smiled.

"I know what you mean, how long have we been in this line anyway?" Cynder looked down at her watch.

"About an hour and a half, and still more than half of the line left to go." She answered. The green dragon shook his head and asked,

"Did you try the self-checkout line?"

"Uhh…no" she lied, hoping he didn't recognize her voice from when she had started screaming at the top of her lungs.

"Did you hear that one lady screaming over there? I've never heard someone swear like that in my life!" he joked. Cynder chuckled half heartedly,

"heh heh, yeah she must be a real idiot to not know how to use a self-checkout line." She replied.

About an hour later Cynder the dizziness hit Cynder again, only this time much worse. She clutched her stomach as she felt a wave of nausea creep into her stomach. She began to sway a little. The green dragon before grabbed her shoulder to steady her,

"Hey, what's wrong?" he asked. Cynder shook her head.

"N-nothing, I'm fi-" suddenly her knees buckled and she collapsed to the floor unconscious. The green dragon's eyes widened.

"Someone call an ambulance!"

Spyro picked up the last medical form and signed it. He set down onto the enormous stack. Finally, he was done with his dreaded paperwork! He was actually quite surprised that he had finished it all, usually he would just throw it all away or "accidently" drop it in the shredder machine.

He leaned back in his chair. One advantage of being the best surgeon in the hospital was you get the most comfy chairs. Spyro gazed at the clock, it was almost 6:30, about three minutes before he could go home. He couldn't wait to see Cynder again. He opened one of his drawers and pulled out the gift he had bought her for the upcoming Christmas season. It was a silver locket with a platinum chain and a picture of their family in it. He smiled, she'd love it no doubt. He put it away in its box and put it away in the drawer, it was still two weeks before Christmas so he could wait at least another few days before he had to wrap it. Spyro leaned back in his chair again and began to doze off.

His nap was interrupted by the ringing of his office phone. He glared at it for a few seconds, wondering who was calling him. He looked at the caller ID. "Warfang Hospital". Spyro was puzzled, why were the nurses calling him? Did they need him in an operation room? Spyro answered it.

"Hello?"

"Is this Dr. Spyro speaking?" a female voice asked. Her voice sounded very rushed and out of breath.

"Yes." He answered.

"Dr. Spyro, it's very urgent that you come to the emergency room immediately!" the voice said.

"Why what's wrong?"

"It's your wife, she's had a heart attack!" Spyro dropped the phone. He ran out of his office and ran as fast as he could to the emergency room.

To be continued.

_**AN: no, that's not the end of the story, you'll just have to wait for the next chapter. **_

_**Please make sure to review!**_


	6. Chapter 6: Tears to shed

Chapter Six: Tears to Shed

Darkness. Cynder's senses were cankered with it. All she could see was a thick blanket of darkness. The darkness was thick and suffocating, almost as if she were immersed in a pool of oil. She struggled against it clawing the air, kicking out with her legs, and sucking for breath. It was no use. She was losing control of her body, she could feel her muscles drain of their strength and the thick darkness closing in on her to seal her fate…

Cynder opened her eyes. She was in a hospital bed. She tried to move, but as soon as she tried lifting her arms, enormous pain rocketed through her entire body causing her to gasp in pain. She set her arms down and no longer tried to move them. Where was she? What was going on? She tried to clear her thoughts and figure out all of these questions, she strained to remember what happened. She was in a line for something, and she was talking to someone… now she remembered! She was in that mile-long line at the supermarket and she was talking to the man behind her. She had gotten dizzy, she remembered a fiery pain in her chest and then…nothing.

Her memories were interrupted by a searing pain. It was centered in her chest. It felt as if someone were drilling a hole through her heart. Cynder called out in pain, doing her best to get someone's attention. Immediately a nurse ran into the room. She saw that Cynder was awake and quickly ran up to her. Cynder was about to ask her what was going on, but before her lips could form words, the nurse stuck a needle in her arm and once again she descended into the darkness.

"Cynder." Cynder heard a voice. "Cynder, wake up." Cynder tried to open her eyes, but they felt as if they weighed a hundred pounds. The voice called out again, this time it was more urgent. Cynder once again tried to open her eyes, this time succeeding in opening them just a crack before they closed again. She didn't see much, but what she did see was enough to motivate her. It was Spyro, her husband. Finally, she opened her eyes.

There he was standing over her, his face heavy with worry. Blaze stood next to him clutching his father's hand and squeezing it, his face was stained with tears. Spyro spoke his voice soft and gentle,

"Cynder? Cynder, are you awake?" Cynder tried to reply, but her throat was so dry that all she could get out was a croak. Spyro leaned forward,

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"W…wat…er." She managed to say. Spyro immediately ran outside. He came back into the room with a plastic cup filled with water, most likely from a drinking fountain. Cynder accepted the cup and drank it. The water instantly helped. She coughed as she cleared her throat and spoke,

"Spyro, wh-where am I?"

"You're in the hospital. You just had a heart attack."

"I guess that explains a lot." She said. That's why her chest hurt so much. The pain was less now, more of a sharp ache. But it was still nearly unbearable. She shivered, she felt so cold. She was under at least four blankets and no doubt the heater was on in the room, so why did she feel so cold? Then it dawned on her. She was dying.

"Spyro. I-I feel so…cold." She said. Spyro's eyes widened. He grabbed her hand.

"It's all right Cynder. You're going to be fine!" he said, almost a shout. Cynder could hear the doubt in his voice. He knew. Cynder's mind felt suddenly clear, she knew what she had to do.

"Spyro. It's all right, I know. Please Spyro, let me speak to you alone." Spyro nodded and took Blaze out of the room. He returned to her bedside.

"Spyro, I'm dying." Cynder said. Spyro shook his head,

"No, no you're not." He said, his voice choked with tears. "You're going to be fine, I promise." He bowed his head and sobbed into her chest. "I can't let you die Cynder, I can't."

Cynder stroked his head and said,

"It's okay Spyro. I've accepted this. Please listen to me." Spyro looked up, his face showed the deepest and most dreadful sorrow Cynder had ever seen. She took a trembling breath and said,

"Spyro I know that there is nothing you can do. I know that you've done everything in your power to save me." Cynder paused, her voice momentarily interrupted by tears of her own. She took a moment to steady herself and then continued,

"Spyro, you mean so much to me. You've been the best husband I could ever ask for. You have helped me more than you could imagine."

"What do you mean?" Spyro asked. Cynder waited as another wave of tears swept through her, and then she spoke, her voice choked with emotion.

"I should have told you this long ago," She cleared her throat and said, "Do you remember the day that we first met?" Spyro nodded. Cynder continued, "I remember it so clearly. I was sitting in the pine trees. I was writing in my journal, I remember I wasn't writing about my day or what had happened earlier,"

"What were you writing?" Spyro asked, leaning forward. Cynder took a deep breath to steady herself,

"I was writing a suicide note."

"What?" Spyro asked, his voice betraying his shock.

"I had been planning it for over a week," Cynder said. "I was going to jump out of a tree, in fact I was sitting under the very tree I planned to jump out of." Spyro sat back as he took this in then asked,

"But why would you kill yourself?"

"I was lonely. I had no friends, no siblings, my parents getting a divorce, I couldn't take it. I thought that killing myself would save me from my future, and from the present. I reasoned that no one loved me and that no one would miss me once I was gone, after all who cared about the class freak? The girl who couldn't even make a real friend, the girl who never smiled, the girl who had never been asked to play. I had finished writing my note and was about to climb the tree." She stopped herself and sniffed, tears falling down her cheeks.

"And then you appeared. I didn't know who you were, I'd never seen you before. I thought you were there to taunt me or bully me. I thought you were just like the rest of the other kids, but then you did the one thing I didn't count on. You asked me to play with you. At first I went along, thinking you were just trying to trick me, but then I saw it in your eyes."

"What did you see?"

"I saw your sincerity, I could see that you were being honest and that you really did want to be around me. I was so excited, you'd shown me more kindness in asking me to play than I had ever experienced in my entire life. That's why I kissed you that day." She smiled. "You deserved it. After all, you saved me."

Suddenly Cynder felt her muscles lose their strength and her vision began to fade. Using all of her strength she gestured for Spyro to lean in close.

"I love you." She whispered, and kissed him on the cheek. Then she felt herself go limp, her muscles no longer obeyed her brain, it was happening she was about to go.

"S-spyro?" She gasped out. He leaned in closer.

"Yes?"

"D-do you think I'll make it? To…heaven?" she asked. Spyro smiled gently and said,

"Of course you will, it wouldn't be heaven without you."

"Spyro, promise me that you'll take care of Blaze."

"Of course I will." Cynder closed her eyes, she tried to talk her mouth was beginning to lose control,

"Spyro, I-I'll be waiting for you, I promise."

She could feel the life draining out of her, she no longer struggled to live, she embraced it now. She saw nothing but darkness. She searched around for light and then saw it. A bright yet gentle glow. The most glorious light she had ever seen. She moved toward it. Then she heard a voice, gentle and kind.

"Come Cynder, I've been waiting." Cynder didn't hesitate. She felt as weightless as air. She could feel her spirit leave her body. She floated in the air and began to ascend. She paused, and looked down one last time at her husband, and then departed.

_**AN: Sorry for making Cynder die, I don't like it any more than you do. So yes there is still more of the story left, this will be the second to last chapter, I'll post the final one soon! Make sure to review!**_


	7. Chapter 7: The End

_**AN: Alright the final chapter! Thanks to everyone for reading this, and make sure to review please!**_

Chapter Seven: The End

_Spyro was running as fast as he could. His heart was beating so fast he thought it would leap out of his chest, his mind was a swirl of thoughts, all vying for attention. _

"_Where is he?"_

"_Is he okay?"_

"_I should have listened to him."_

"_Why didn't I listen?"_

"_I have to find him!"_

"_What if he's…no he isn't I must find him!"_

_ He turned around the corner and ran down the alleyway. He was getting close, he knew it. He saw a flash of orange scales. It was him! It was Blaze! Spyro felt his heart fill with relief, he'd found him. He approached the end of the alleyway and stopped. He bent down and picked up his son. He hugged him and told him everything would be okay. _

"_It's all right, Blaze. Everything's gonna be okay." Something wasn't right. His son wasn't hugging him back, he didn't even say anything, he wasn't even crying. His body was so…cold._

"_No." Spyro said. He looked at his son. His eyes were closed and he wasn't breathing. Spyro desperately searched for a pulse. Nothing. _

"_No. No." He said desperately. He began trying to revive him. Nothing. _

"_No!" Spyro buried his face in his hands and wept,_

"_Please Blaze! You can't die, you have to live you're so young! You can't leave me all alone, please! Live!" Spyro yelled the last word at the top of his lungs. He quietly sat down. He picked up his son again and began to carry him. He walked into the night. Alone…_

Spyro woke up with a start, his arms covered with sweat. He sobbed as he remembered his nightmare. He breathed deeply, trying to rid himself of the haunting images. He tried thinking of other things, but every time the face of his son would pierce his thoughts. His dead son.

He still had the nightmares. They weren't as frequent as before, but they still persisted, haunting him, torturing him, taunting him, destroying him. He cupped his face into his hands and began to sob. His old and broken body heaved with his cries. He truly was alone now. His adopted parents were dead, his friends were dead…his family was dead. Everything he had ever cared about had been torn from his life, one by one. It had started with Cynder and ended with Blaze, his son.

He still vividly remembered the events of that night. He remembered coming home from work, to see that his fifteen year old son was not at home. He remembered searching frantically. He remembered finding the note in his room, left behind by his murderer.

_I have him._

_-?_

He remembered searching the entire city for his son, he remembered the alley where he had found him. He remembered finding him dead. He remembered carrying him alone. He had taken him to a hospital. They said the cause of death was asphyxiation, he'd been murdered. He remembered the police trying to find the murderer, the man who had done this to his son. None of it mattered to Spyro though, his son was dead, and nothing could change that. Nothing.

Spyro looked at his alarm clock. It was ten-thirty. Two hours before he was supposed to see his doctor. His spinal doctor. Spyro painfully sat up and grabbed his cane. He slowly walked down the stairs into the kitchen, his joints moving slowly and painfully. He groaned as he sat down. He gazed at the tablecloth, thinking.

He remembered when he had been young, and full of youth. He remembered falling in love with Cynder, his true love. He picked up her picture. Her portrait smiled up at him, framed in silver. He smiled, he remembered the day she had gotten this picture taken. Spyro had framed it for her and had given it to her for Christmas, along with the silver locket. She of course had loved both of the presents. He remembered her amazing smile, her angelic beauty. She was a natural at being a mother, so gentle and patient. She loved do anything with her family. She had helped him and Blaze go through so much. All of this before she…

Spyro stopped himself. He shook his head and sat up. He made himself breakfast and ate it slowly. He took his medication and read the newspaper. After an hour he got up and went in his car and drove off to his doctor's office.

Spyro stepped into the hospital. He breathed in the familiar smell of it. He had worked here for so long. He had retired twenty three years ago at the age of sixty five. It seemed like only yesterday. He walked down the hall and greeted the receptionist. She looked up from her papers and smiled.

"Doctor Spyro! How nice to see you."

"You don't need to call me 'Doctor' any more Jane. I retired many years ago." Spyro replied. The receptionist smiled and said,

"I guess I'm still used to calling you that, you were my boss for at least ten years."

"Well, I'm just a patient now. I'm guessing you know why I'm here?"

"Yes, an appointment with Doctor Rose, right?" Spyro nodded. Jane looked at her papers and said, "Well you're just in time, go on, oh and don't worry about payment, Rose said she'd cover the cost." Spyro thanked Jane and began walking towards his doctor's office.

Doctor Rose was a kind woman. She was also a magnificent spinal surgeon, almost as good as Spyro had been when he was her age. Rose had been a patient of Spyro's thirty years ago. She was only five then. She had been in a terrible automobile accident, in which she had broken her back. She had been in very critical condition. Spyro and the other surgeons never thought they'd be able to save her, let alone be able to help her walk again. The surgery had been a great success, and Rose wasn't paralyzed. It had been a close call, her spinal cord had been severely damaged by her fractured vertebrae, but Spyro had been able to repair the damage without her being paralyzed.

Spyro came to the door, it read:

_Doctor Rose's office_

Spyro knocked on the door and stepped into the room.

Spyro stepped out of the room. He slowly hobbled out of the hospital and into his car. He drove slowly to his home, thinking the entire way. Doctor Rose had said that his back was in severe need of surgery. Spyro of course knew this, however he had refused to accept the surgery. He only had a few years left, maybe only a month, or even a day for that matter. He was a dead man walking, and didn't see the need in trying to make himself comfortable for the rest of his pitiful life.

His thoughts turned to a phone call he'd gotten earlier that morning. It had been the police commissioner. He had been the same police captain in charge fifty years ago, he was seventy now and still working. He'd told Spyro that he had urgent news.

"_We've got him Spyro."_

"_What do you mean?"_

"_We've caught him Spyro, the man who killed your son."_

The commissioner told Spyro that the man would stand trial next week, and that he should be there. Spyro had mixed feelings about whether to go or not. On one hand he should go to prosecute the killer. And on the other hand he saw no point in going, the experience would only remind him of his son's death. He had thought about it for awhile before he finally made up his mind to go.

Spyro pulled up in his driveway. He grabbed his cane out of the back seat, and began making his way into his house.

Spyro leaned forward in his seat. His seatbelt rubbed against his shoulder as he strained to see the courthouse. The commissioner turned to him and said,

"Don't worry Spyro, we're finally gonna give that man the justice he deserves." Spyro nodded and continued to stare at the courthouse.

"Don't worry Spyro, there's no possible way he'll be found innocent. We have all the evidence we need to lock him up for life, hopefully even give him the death penalty." The commissioner smiled, thinking that this information would cheer Spyro up.

Spyro of course didn't care what the killer got, he didn't even care what the verdict was. Spyro thought about the reason he had come. He wanted to confront this man. He wanted to tell him something, and Spyro would make sure that he heard it.

Spyro shifted in his chair. The killer sat about twenty feet away from him. It had been an hour since the end of the trial, and the jury was about declare their verdict. The killer was named Jeremy Duntham. He had dark, navy blue scales and yellow eyes. He was tall and had a muscular build, he was at least seventy, yet his body showed little, if any signs, of aging. He sat fidgeting in his seat. He looked down, he didn't have the courage to look Spyro in the eye. He had averted his gaze from Spyro throughout the entire trial, even when Spyro had stood up to tell what had happened the night he found his son killed.

The leader of the jury stood up and said,

"We the jury have deliberated and have come to our conclusion." He paused and then continued, "We the jury have found Mr. Duntham guilty of all charges." He sat down. A few minutes passed as the judge spoke with the jury. Once the verdict was confirmed true, the judge struck his gavel and said,

"Guilty of all charges."

The killer bowed his head and never said a word. He didn't struggle as the officers began to lead him away. Before they exited the room, Spyro stopped them.

"May I speak to him for a moment?" the officers nodded. They turned Jeremy around so that Spyro could speak to him face to face. The killer stared at the floor not looking Spyro in the eyes. Spyro cleared his throat, his heart pounded. He spoke,

"You've put me through quite a bit Mr. Bentham." He paused and then he spoke again, his voice choked with tears,

"You killed my son, Blaze. He was only fifteen. I don't know why you did it, but that doesn't matter. I don't care what sentence you get, for I know that you'll get what you deserve after this life."

"You've taken everything away from me. My son was a kind and loving child, I have no idea why you would kill him. I loved him and did my best to be his father. I tried so hard to be the father my wife would want me to be to him. I promised her I would take care of him. And I failed." He sobbed for a moment, before continuing.

"I know you have no idea what it is like to lose a child, Mr. Bentham. I know you've never lost a child or a wife. And I know that you've never felt the love of a child. Perhaps if you had you wouldn't have done this to my boy."

"For fifty years I wondered who you were. I wondered why you did this. And now here you are, right before my eyes. I've hated you for so long, and I have every right to hate you. Mr. Bentham, I hope as you await your fate that think of what you have done. I hope you think about my son, and how you murdered him in cold blood." Spyro paused again and struggled saying the next words,

"I can see now that in order for me to truly have peace there is something I must tell you. For everything you've done to me, for killing my son, for destroying my happiness, and making me go through so much sorrow. I…forgive you."

The killer looked up at him his eyes wide with shock. His mouth was open as he struggled to find something to say. The whole room was silent. Spyro turned around and walked out of the courthouse.

Spyro lied in his bed, wide awake. His mind was clear and full of peace. He was no longer consumed by his anger and grief. It was strange, all of his life he had wondered what he would do once he met his son's killer. He hadn't planned on forgiving him. Even as he was speaking to the man he didn't realize what he had to do until he was almost done talking to him. He had surprised himself just as much as he had surprised everyone else.

He was confused by how much peace he felt now. For fifty years he had been drowning in sorrow and rage. For so long he had wished he was dead. He had attempted suicide three times. Each time he thought about Cynder. He thought about how she had tried to kill herself. He thought about how she had told him he saved her. And every time he would hear Cynder's voice,

"_Not yet my darling." _ Spyro fought back tears as he remembered what he had thought the first time he heard that. _"Why?"_ he remembered wanting to be with her and Blaze. He remembered thinking that he no longer had any purpose to fulfill in his life. But now he could see that he was wrong, he had saved lives. He had helped people get their lives back. He had helped people that thought they couldn't be helped. He had mended their broken hearts.

Spyro felt his thoughts begin to slow. It was getting harder to breathe. His muscles wouldn't move. His vision was failing. He knew what was happening. He was dying, he probably only had a few minutes left. Spyro didn't struggle against it. He felt his spirit leave his body. He felt the pain disappear. He blacked out.

Spyro woke up. All around him was nothing but darkness. He stood up and looked down. The ground beneath him felt solid, but he couldn't see what he was standing on, just an endless pit. Suddenly he saw flames begin to rise out of the pit. He watched in horror as a figure began to rise out of the pit.

Its body was covered in scales the color of blood. Its eyes gleamed scarlet with malicious hate. It stood up to its full height. It had to be at least a hundred feet tall. Its entire body was covered in a fiery inferno. Spyro could see a chain around its neck, the chain led down into the pit as far as Spyro could see. The figure spoke, its voice dark and dripping with hate,

"Spyro." It hissed. It began reaching for him, its claws outstretched. Spyro trembled, his legs wouldn't move, he was paralyzed by unearthly fear. The thing's had was only inches away from Spyro before it stopped, the chain was holding it back. It roared at Spyro, shaking the ground around him. The sound was unlike anything Spyro had ever heard, full of rage, hate, and pain.

It began slowly sinking into the pit. It screeched and struggled against its descent, but the chain held strong and dragged it back into the fiery pit. Spyro struggled for breath, his heart was beating rapidly. He sat for a few minutes wondering what was going on. He sat alone in the darkness.

After an hour Spyro heard a noise. He sensed something approaching. He opened his eyes. He saw a light. It was the brightest thing he had ever seen, even brighter than the sun. He saw a figure in the light. He squinted as tried to see who it was. Suddenly his heart leaped as he recognized who it was. Cynder. She was more beautiful than anything he had ever seen. Her body was surrounded by the light. She smiled at Spyro and said,

"I've been waiting for you my love." Her voice was as soft as silk. Spyro gazed at her in disbelief. Then he got to his feet. He ran to her, he ran faster than he had ever ran before. He reached her and pulled her into an embrace. His heart was filled with the most joy he had ever felt.

He was with her.

_**AN: all right everyone that's the end! I really enjoyed writing this story. I'm grateful to everyone who read this, and I hope you enjoyed it. I am sincerely glad to have finished this story, I really think that did my best with it. **_

_**Well, I'll be writing more stories in the future so look out for them, and make sure to review!**_


End file.
